Avery Dennis Sr.

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Avery Dennis Sr., also known as "Chief Eagle Eye" (April 4, 1929 – September 5, 2015) was an American

Long Island, New York, for nineteen nonconsecutive years between 1952 and 1985, becoming one of the Shinnecock's longest serving elected leaders in history.[1]
[2] The trustee is the Shinnecock's highest officeholder.[3]

Dennis, a proponent of Shinnecock sovereignty, helped lead several land-claim legal battles on behalf of the

U.S. government in 2010, after a campaign which spanned decades.[3] Dennis also established the Shinnecock Reservation's first substance abuse recovery program during the 1980s. His program to combat substance abuse is still active, as of 2015.[3]

Dennis, a lifelong resident of the Shinnecock Reservation, was born on April 4, 1929, to parents, William Pinn and Pauline Dennis.[3] He attended elementary school in the Shinnecock One-Room School House.[3] Dennis enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II and gained the rank of sergeant.[3]

He returned to the Shinnecock Reservation after his

honorable discharge from the Army Air Corps following World War II.[2][3] Dennis joined the United States Postal Service, where he worked for 26 years until his retirement.[2] He married his wife, Dorothy, with whom he had five children, in 1949.[2]

Avery Dennis did not complete his high school education and receive his high school diploma until he was in his 50s.[2][3] He then studied substance abuse and pursued a career as a substance abuse counselor. Dennis created the first substance abuse recovery program to combat drug and alcohol abuse in the Shinnecock Reservation.[3] It was the Shinnecock's first substance abuse program, is still in use more than 30 years after its establishment.[3]

Avery Dennis Sr. died from heart failure on September 5, 2015, at the age of 86.[3] His funeral was held on September 8, 2015, at the Shinnecock Presbyterian Church, where he was a church elder. Dennis was buried with full military honors at the Shinnecock tribal cemetery.[3] He was survived by his wife, Dorothy Dennis; five children - Diane Smith, Doreen Dennis-Pepe, Avery Dennis Jr., Andre Dennis, Alton Dennis and Danny Collins Sr.; 18 grandchildren; and 22 great-grandchildren.[3]

References

  1. ^ "The Shinnecock Trustee System since 1792". Shinnecock Indian Nation. Retrieved 2015-10-03.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Avery 'Chief Eagle Eye' Dennis Sr. Dies September 5". 27east. 2015-09-08. Retrieved 2015-10-03.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harrington, Mark (2015-09-08). "Avery Dennis Sr., ex-Shinnecock Indian Nation trustee, dead at 86". Newday. Retrieved 2015-10-03.
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